Avengers 2 12: a lost story, featuring the origin
by travis H24
Summary: A lost story featuring the original Avengers line-up.


Avengers 2 1/2

Somewhere in the Pacific:

The crew of the navy ship, U.S.S. Kirby, had dealt with its share of celebrities. Visiting foreign dignitaries, government officials and the occasional movie star. None of that had prepared them for the foursome that now stood on the deck.

"For this I gave up having my hair done." The Wasp complained, peering out disapprovingly at the ocean. She shivered slightly, in her red and blue bodysuit.

"We all had our schedules interrupted," Giant-man, the Wasp's towering partner in crime replied. " I was in the middle of some lab work that..."

"If it wasn't important," Iron man interrupted. "Then the U.S. government wouldn't have had Tony Stark contact us." He shifted to turn and face the other Avengers, his bulky, golden armor glinting in the morning sun. "There have already been two attempts on the plans and components for this prototype and..."

"...And your dreamy boss suggested having the Avengers baby sit during the test run." The Wasp finished. "We know, but what's the point of being at the ocean when there's no beach nearby to take romantic strolls on? Right, high pockets?"

"Um..." Giant man mumbled, self-consciously. " Whatever you say Ja... Wasp."

"Attend, fellow Avengers," Thor, the Norse god of thunder announced. "The Captain doth approach. I believe our leisure tis at an end.

"Excuse me, Avengers," The captain said. " If you'd care to join me on the bridge, we are ready to commence the test run."

"Of course, Captain Thomas. Ladies first, Wasp." Iron Man said.

The quartet of heroes made its way across the ship, Giant-man towering above the crew, Wasp flirting with the sailors, Thor striding proudly, and Iron man clomped along behind, adjusting the scanning transistors in his wrist gauntlets.

Once settled on the bridge, they had a full view of the deck and the prototype itself.

The Trident, designed by Stark Industries, was a three man mini sub, with the ability to reach depths previously thought too dangerous for humans to attempt.

"We'll be doing not only a stress test, but we also hope to use the Trident to investigate rumors of the ruins of a lost civilization believed located in this area." Captain Thomas explained.

"You mean like Atlantis?" The Wasp asked. "Where that Namor character is supposed to be from."

"The same."

"Well, anybody who can go toe to toe with the Fantastic Four, I'd think twice about tangling with." Giant-man said.

"Would be a true test of our own warrior spirit." Thor replied. " To face such a foe!"

"I wouldn't count on it happening in the near future." Iron man added.

"Prepare to lower the Trident," The Captain commanded. " Should be smooth sailing."

"Uh...Captain," Giant-Man interrupted, pointing towards the nearest window. " I think you spoke too soon!"

Avengers and sailors alike gaped at the massive storm front that was suddenly racing towards the naval vessel. The clouds rolled darkly and crackled with lightening.

"What! Com, why weren't we alerted?" The Captain demanded.

"There's nothing on the radar, Sir! It came outta nowhere!"

"And it's heading straight for us!" Giant-man added.

" Avengers assemble!" Iron Man announced, cranking up the volume on his helmet speaker to cut through the noise. " Thor, the storm's your job. See if you can't somehow divert it."

"Aye, leave it to the God of thunder!"

"I'll help with the sub," Iron Man continued. " If we get it lowered it can dive below the storm."

"I'll get on deck, and help the crew secure the ship. " Giant-man volunteered.

"What about me?" The Wasp asked. " Do I just stand around looking pretty?"

"Play to your strengths Wasp," Iron Man said, as he and the others left the bridge.

"Humph! Well, at least somebody noticed," Wasp grumbled. " Too bad it couldn't have been Hank."

Once back on deck, the mighty Thor swung his enchanted hammer and launched himself towards the threatening storm.

Iron Man used his boot jets to hover next to the Trident, as it was slowly lowered into the ocean.

"Steady fellows, "The golden Avenger said through his helmet radio. " Despite those clouds the ocean looks pretty calm."

Thor's hammer propelled him through the sky and into the path of the storm.

" Come hurricane and cataracts blow!" Thor bellowed, bracing himself. " No storm shall withstand the son of Odin!"

"Almost there," Iron man said, hovering mere feet above the ocean. The belly of the Trident just touched the surface of the waves.

"Thanks, Iron man," The sub commander said. " We can take it from here.

"Release main clamps."

The Sub dropped slowly beneath the waves.

"Taking her down to thirty feet. We'll keep her in a steady holding pattern until the storm's passed." The sub's commander said, speaking over the communicator.

"Iron man?" The Wasp's voice cut in. " You might want to get your shiny self to the other side of the ship. We've got a new problem."

His boot jets roared, as Iron man shot up and over the naval vessel. Surfacing on the other side of the U.S.S. Kirby was an enormous sea beast.

Its scaly green hide glistened wetly in the sun, and its crimson eyes were focused hungrily on the ship.

"Looks like we are about to become the middle of a disaster sandwich," The Wasp said.

"I'm on it," Iron man replied. " You and Giant-man stay with the ship, and keep an eye on the Trident. This a bit too much of a coincidence for me!"

Meanwhile, Thor was at the center of the storm, bristling with power and frustration. All his godly might had no effect on it. The storm swept on past him, moments away from striking the Kirby.

"Tis like no storm I have encountered!" The god of thunder raged. He twirled his hammer, conjuring up gale force winds, hoping to drive the storm off course.

Thor gritted his teeth, as the clouds swept past, ignoring his best efforts.

On the other side of the ship, Iron man sped through the air like a golden missile at the sea monster.

"Maybe I was wrong about crossing paths with the Sub-mariner," He thought, bracing himself for the impact. "This thing seems right up his alley."

One moment the creature was filling Iron man's field of vision, the next the armored Avenger was crashing into the ocean.

"What? How could something that big move that fast!"? He gasped as his boot jets struggled to bring him back up. Surfacing, Iron man adjusted his repulsers and blasted the creature, full force.

To no effect.

The ocean rolled and surged, but the creature continued towards its intended prey.

On deck, Giant-man and Wasp had done all they could to help the crew, and were now pondering how to help their teammates.

"I'll see what I can do to slow that monster down," Giant-man said, shooting up to his full height of twenty-five feet. " You keep an eye on the sub. We'll keep in contact with the bridge and each other through our helmet radios."

"Got you, handsome. Good luck." Wasp sped off to the other side of the ship, her wings buzzing.

Giant-man leapt over the side and cannonball into the water, landing only feet away from the leviathan from the deep.

"Come on in," Iron man announced through his helmet radio. " The water's fine."

"You think, between the two of us, we can push that thing back?" Giant-man asked.

"I'm willing to give it a try," Iron man replied, firing up his boot jets.

Just then, the storm came crashing in on them. With his visibility gone, Iron man crashed back into the ocean, while Giant-man braced himself against the side of the ship.

Thor tumbled from the sky, landing hard upon the deck. Sailors scrambled, first to get out of his way, then rushing to check on the stunned god of thunder.

Quickly as it struck, the storm passed, leaving no trace of cloud, the mini sub or the Wasp!

The Avengers and the Kirby's crew gathered on the deck. Iron man had managed to drain most of the seawater from his armor, and was using the ship's power station to recharge. Giant-man had shrunk down to ten feet and had a tarp draped over his slumped shoulders. Thor stood, glaring out at the ocean.

"Where could she have gone?" Giant-man asked. He'd done little but mope and pace since returning to the ship and finding his partner in crime among the missing.

"We'll find her." Iron man reassured him.

"Aye," Thor added. " The Avengers will never abandon one of their number. We will see her returned to your side."

"I just wish we had more to go on!" Giant-man said

"It was all chaos," Iron man reminded him. " We couldn't have been more distracted if someone had planned the whole thing."

"Verily, I wonder..."

"So do I Thor," The Captain said. " That storm came literally out of nowhere. Not a blip on sonar or radar.

"And nothing any of us did seemed to have an affect on the storm or the monster." Iron man added.

"It still doesn't explain Wasp and the sub going missing!" Giant-man said, pacing with massive strides. " In that brief time neither of them should have been able to drift out of radio range."

"When the storm hit, we suffered a lot of equipment failure," Captain Thomas said.

"Would seem as though...by my fathers beard!"

Everyone turned to where the god of thunder was pointing. A dozen yards from the Kirby, a menacing figure stood upon the surface of the ocean, glaring at the ship.

He was several feet taller then Giant-man's maximum height, his skin a light blue, his hair and beard snow white. He wore a calf length robe that was several shades darker then his skin.

"Leave these waters!" He boomed. ' Or face the wrath of the Sea lord!"

"What the...?" The Captain exclaimed.

"Would explain the storm," Thor muttered. "And the creature."

"I wonder." Iron man said, adjusting several controls on his wrist gauntlets.

"You have been warned!" The figure roared as he sank slowly beneath the waves, leaving no ripple.

"Captain," Iron man said, determinately. " We are going to need some deep sea gear."

While Giant-man helped the navy crew to adapt diving gear to fit a ten-foot tall man, and a Norse god, Iron man was busy on the bridge.

He and an ensign were going over readings taken by the Kirby during the Avengers battle.

"You had no warning of the storm?" Iron man asked.

"Nothing sir," The sailor replied. "But the navy hasn't gotten around to installing a magic detector."

"I'll talk to Mister Stark about that," Iron man said, smirking beneath his helmet. "Now what's this image?"

"We're still working on that one. When the storm hit we lost radio for a couple minutes. Radar and sonar went nuts."

"How so?"

"We had blips all over the place. A couple in empty water. We couldn't even get a reading on that sea monster and it was two feet away from the ship! "

Iron man nodded, though it was hard to tell with the helmet, clicked several controls on his chest plate and headed out on deck. "Thank you, ensign."

Once on deck, he extended the antenna in his right shoulder and took a few more readings.

Giant-man had adapted a facemask to his large features, and had two air tanks strapped together. This would leave him stuck at ten feet if he wanted to continue breathing. Thor had declined any diving gear.

"Mine own enchanted hammer will protect me. The son of Odin needs no other aid."

"Suit yourself, "A sailor replied, shrugging and turning to Iron man. "We got those extra tanks you asked for."

"Thank you. Come on fellows, lets go monster hunting!"

"You sure about this Iron man?" Giant-man asked. " We have no idea where to look and the ship's equipment is still malfunctioning."

"Relax Giant-man. We'll find her. I've got an idea."

The three heroes dove over the side and into the ocean's depths.

"Keep together," Iron man advised. " Especially since Thor doesn't have a radio. Let's head down."

Giant-man nodded then tapped Thor on the shoulder and pointed downward. Iron man led the way. Thor followed with Giant-man holding on to the god of thunder's ankle.

"The Kirby will try to keep a channel open for us, but we can't count on them for much help in this situation."

"Cuh-can you repeat that, Ironnnnnnn-man? I'm getting some staaa-tizzzz," Giant-man said, through the radio.

"We must be getting close. Be on guard!"

"Ir-on man! L-l- zzzt-loook out!" Giant-man's voice rang out.

The sea monster had returned and was charging towards the Avengers at torpedo speed!

"Brace yourself!" Iron man shouted.

Thor moved to the front to meet the creature's charge.

It opened its fanged mouth in a bubbling roar of rage as it closed in, and then vanished.

"What happened?" Giant-man asked, looking around puzzled.

Thor scowled, denied the promise of combat.

"Keep al-zzzt-lert," Iron man said. " I'm scanning for the Trident."

"Shouldn't we keep an eye out for that Sea lord?" Giant-man asked

"No, we should...Got it! This way!" Iron man pointed towards the ocean floor and sped off. Roughly 50 feet ahead of them was a large metal dome, nestled up against the underwater ridge.

"There!" Iron man announced. " Thor and I can check that out."

"What about Wasp?" Giant-man asked. "Or for that matter the Trident?"

Iron man pointed off to the right, where the prototype sub rested in the sand, caught in the extended claw arms of another mini sub.

Giant-man nodded and swam off. Thor started to follow the towering Avenger, till Iron man grasped his arm and pointed towards the dome. The son of Odin smiled grimly and hurled himself at the metal shell.

"Thor! No!" Iron man shouted, before realizing the god of thunder wasn't wearing a radio. " Giant-man, secure those subs quick! We're going to need rides for some very soggy villains in a hurry!"

"I'm on it!" Giant-man replied. " Giant-man to Trident, can you hear me?"

"Zzzzzt! Giiii-ant man! This is the Trident! Glad to hear from...zzzt...!"

"Is that you, dark, handsome and extra tall?" A familiar voice sounded in Giant man's helmet radio.

"Ja- uh, Wasp! How'd you get aboard the Trident?"

"I'm not. I'm…zzzt… on the other one. The one that grabbed the Trident while you guys were playing in the water. I could use a hand here though."

"I'm on my way! Trident, we'll work on getting you out of here in a moment." With oversized strokes, Giant-man swam to the clawed mini sub.

"Wasp, can you open the airlock for me?"

" No. I had to zap the crew with my Wasp's sting to keep them out of trouble, and the last button I pushed got us stuck here on the bottom."

"Okay. I think I've got it. There's a vent on the side I can squeeze into."

Swallowing a shrinking capsule, Giant-man transformed into Ant-man and made his way to the vent. As he shrank he had to abandon his diving gear and rush to the shelter of the sub.

Luckily the Wasp had shrunk as well. With the three-man crew sprawled unconscious about the cockpit, the sub was cramped.

"Hello handsome!" Wasp said, flying across the cabin and into Ant-man's arms. "Miss me?"

"Looks like you've been busy," He replied, giving her a quick hug. " Who are your new friends?"

He glanced down at the unconscious crewmen. They were all dressed in green tunics, boots, pants and masks that left only their noses and mouths visible. Red lenses covered their eyes.

"They're no friends of mine." Wasp protested. " No one I know would be caught dead in outfits like those! Plus, they were ruder then the Hulk!"

"No wonder you zapped them, no fashion sense. Let me take a look at these controls. Then we can see about getting us, and the Trident, back to the surface."

"I bet those sailors have had enough of a 'shakedown' for one day." Wasp said. "Not that I'm not enjoying the company, but what happened to Thor and Iron man?"

"Dealing with these guy's boss if I had to guess. The so-called 'Sea lord'."

The wall of the dome was no match for Thor's hammer. It split like wet cardboard. The Avengers squeezed through the jagged hole and into the rapidly filling corridor. Iron man ripped a metal door off its hinges and used his repulsers to seal it to the hole.

"That should give us a little time to sort these guys out." He muttered." Thor! Look out!"

A squad of soldiers in green tunics and hoods came racing towards the heroes. Unfortunately, they couldn't use their lethal looking pistols for fear of puncturing the dome. That meant it was the work of a moment for the god of thunder to make mincemeat out of them.

Iron man grabbed the last conscious soldier before Thor could get his hands on him, and dragged him along as they investigated the rest of the dome.

"You shall pay for this!" Their prisoner raged. " Almighty Hydra will crush you in its grip!"

"Hydra huh?" Iron man muttered, as he peered around at the equipment contained in one of the chambers. "I thought you guys disappeared shortly after the war? Guess you are ready to re-open for business, huh? What do you know, an image projector! I thought we might find of these."

"Ho! Iron man, shall we go to face the Sea lord in his lair?" Thor asked. " These lackeys have but whetted my appetite for battle!"

" Hold on, Thor, I'll ask him to join us." Iron man said, flicking switches on a control panel with his free hand. The machinery hummed and the Sea lord appeared in the center of the room. He had shrunk a bit, now only a couple inches taller then the god of thunder.

"Leave these waters!" He bellowed. " Or face the wrath of..."

Iron man pushed a button and the Sea lord vanished.

"There, vanquished." He said.

"Sorcery!" Thor exclaimed.

"No technology. It was all done with an image projector. The storm, the monster, and the Sea lord. All illusions. Stark industries are developing the same kind of device. I was hoping to use it in our search for the Hulk."

"'Twas why my hammer had no effect. Trickery!" Thor said.

"Basically. Now let's see...there!" He played with the control panel for several seconds. " That should take care of the radio interference. Keep on eye on this guy while I try to contact the Kirby."

"Aye," Thor said, grabbing a hold of the Hydra agent and dragging him from the chamber. " And I shall keep watch for more of his comrades."

"Beneath his helmet, Tony Stark smiled, feeling sorry for anyone who crossed the thunder god's path.

"Let's make some calls."

"You'll pay for this Avenger!" Thor's prisoner ranted from the corridor. " We are Hydra! Cut off a limb and..."

"Do not tempt me mortal."

"Giant-man, do you read me?" Iron man said.

"Loud and clear! Things under control?"

"Fine," Iron man replied. " How are the Trident and the Wasp?"

"We got the Trident free," Giant-man explained. " But the other sub is disabled. We're going to need a lift to the surface."

"But, take your time," The Wasp added. " It's not often I get this big lug somewhere secluded and cozy."

"We should be done here in a couple of minutes." Iron man said.

"Spoilsport!"

Less then an hour later, the U.S. Navy was in possession of their prototype sub, as well as two dozen Hydra soldiers and a base load of stolen technology.

"You say it was all an illusion?" The captain commented, once the Avengers were reunited back on the Kirby. " Like that magician the Fantastic Four tangled with a couple months ago?"

"All projected realistic images," Iron man explained. " Hydra has been awfully busy while they were laying low."

"Looks like they're done laying low," Giant-man said. " We'll have to keep on a eye out."

"True," Thor added. "Though hopefully it shall wait till our search for the Hulk is completed."

"That's if your dreamy boss doesn't have anymore favors to ask us." Wasp said, smirking at Iron man.

"I'll try and have a word with him when we get back to shore." Iron man replied, dryly.

Elsewhere...

In a darkened chamber, a green tuniced, but unmasked figure nodded his baldhead, briefly as an underling finished with his report.

"Well, Avengers, what are we going to do about you?" Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker muttered darkly.


End file.
